Road Transport Activities
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IN PARLIAMENT
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
Road and Rail Traffic Act.
BEFORE Parliament was prorogued the Road and Rail Traffic Bill was placed upon the Statute Book. On the report stage in the House of Lords the Marquis of Londonderry moved an amendment on Clause 6, which deals with the discretionary powers of the licensing authority as to the grant or refusal of licences. It provided that the licensing authority, in the exercise of discretion, shall have regard to the extent to which the vehicles to be authorized will be in substitution for horse-drawn vehicles previously used by the applicant for the purpose of his business as a carrier. The amendment was agreed to.
An amendment was made on Clause 30, which gives the authority power to prohibit or restrict the use of vehicles on certain bridges. The amendment provided that for the purposes of the section a vehicle and any trailer drawn thereby shall be deemed to be a single vehicle. The report stage was concluded and the Bill was then read a third time without discussion and passed. The Royal Assent was intimated by Commission on Friday, when the session ended.
Eliminating the Southern Ayes.
THE House of Commons having agreed to all the Lords' amendmeuts, some objection was raised to the amendment eliminating the Southern Traffic Area, but Mr. Stanley pointed out that one great advantage of fewer areas would be the reduction of expense and delay in operators getting a backing in every area in which they proposed to run. He added that he had given the utmost consideration to representations made to him, and he promised that operators would not be put to extra expense or delay as the result of the change.
Compensation for Accidents.
THE Road Traffic (Compensation for Accidents) Bill was withdrawn by Lord Dancsfort in the House of Lords before the end of the session. He intimated that he intended to have the Bill reintroduced in the new session. Lord Moynihan's Emergency Treatment Bill also lapsed with the session, but in the Road and Rail Traffic Act there is incorporated a section increasing the maximum sum recoverable by hospitals for treatment of an in-patient from £25 to £50, and permitting the recovery of up to £5 for treatment of an out-patient. Major Hills, when this proposal was being considered by the Commons, observed that the cost to the insured person would not be more than 2s. or 2s. 6d. on his premium.
London Street Accidents.
MITE Home Secretary states that the 1 whole subject of London street accidents is receiving his close consideration in consultation with the Minister of
Transport. In the course of suggestions for the reimposition of speed limits, Mr. H. Williams requested that the police should be instructed to give more attention to vehicles that are in motion and less to those that are at rest. One suggestion was to prohibit by legislation the licensing of a motor vehicle for use on a public highway capable of travelling beyond an agreed maximum speed, to which the obvious reply came from the Minister of Transport that, apart from any other consideration, there were many technical objections to the suggestion which would make it impracticable. Asked whether he had noticed the great increase in accidents since the abolition of the speed limit, Mr. Stanley said he had noticed a great increase, unfortunately, in the accidents which had occurred in the third year after the speed limit was abolished.
Mr. Stanley, on having his attention called to the continued increase in the accidents involving buses in the Metropolitan Area since the time schedules had been shortened, said that whilst there had been some increase in the number of accidents involving buses, he had no evidence that the new time schedules were responsible. He was, however, considering whether some further analysis might be obtained.
Conveyance of Dangerous Chemicals.
TTPON being urged by Col. Goodman k_.) to take steps to regulate the transport of acids and dangerous chemicals and other materials by road, the Home Secretary stated that the question of applying the provisions of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act, 1928, to certain dangerous chemicals with a view to regulating the conditions of their conveyance by road was at present under consideration. Mr. L. Smith hoped the Home Secretary would also take into consideration the fact that this industry was already hedged around with ninny restrictions.
Traffic Control at Chelsea Bridge.
WITH regard to a suggestion that a round-about similar to that at Lambeth Bridge should be provided at the north end of the new Chelsea Bridge instead of light signals, Mr. Stanley said that any such suggestion that might be submitted by the London Comity Council would receive careful consideration, but as at present advised he was of opinion that, apart from any question of space for a round-about, traffic light signals would adequately serve the purpose at much less expense. Trade with Australia.
HE Empire Industries Association 1 states that the success of the British motorcar industry, in competing for overseas markets, is revealed by recent statistics published in Australia for the six months ended June 30. Of the new cars registered in ihat period 44.7 per cent. were British, as against 41.7 per cent. American. In the corresponding period of last year the percentages were 28 per cent. British and 54 per cent. American.
London Bus Accommodation.
it TR. STANLEY informed Capt. Can1.I'lningham-Reid that the attention of the Loudon Passenger Transport Board had been drawn to the lack of accommodation in buses during the morning peak hours for workers who had to board such buses at the St. John's Wood and Clifton Road stopping places on the Nos. 6 and 60 routes.
Improvement of Silencers.
JJAV1NG been advised by several .members to prohibit the manufacture and sale of motor vehicles with inefficient silencers, Mr. Stanley said he thought that the silencers of some types of motor vehicle might be improved, and he had already drawn the manufacturers' attention to the matter.
An Extraordinary Proposal.
THE following suggestion has been made by Mr. McKeag in a question to the Minister of Transport, asking if, with a view to checking reckless driving, he will make a regulation that any driver of a motorcar who has had two accidents in any one year, involving death or bodily injury, should be compelled to carry on his car a distinguishing mark in the form of a yellow 'disc and be limited to a speed of 25 m.p.h. for a period of 12 months, and that in the event of that person being involved in a further accident within that period he should be compelled to carry a red distinguishing disc and be subjected to a still lower speed limit. Mr. Stanley remarked that he had no power to make regulations on the lines suggested.
Fitness of Taxicabs.
oIR A. M. SAMUEL inquired
whether any step was taken by the Metropolitan licensing authority to prevent worn-out cabs, for which renewal licences had been refused, from being offered by their owners to other authorities for licence to ply for public hire in other areas. Sir John Gilmour, Home Secretary, replied that there were over 1,000 licensing authorities, and, apart from the considerable expenditure of time and trouble involved in circularizing them all, the Commissioner of Police informed him that in his view no useful purpose would be served by the action on the lines suggested, since the only question was fitness.